Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to Article 20.2 of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, how many online seminars, workshops or other related activities (a) her Department and (b) the Japanese government has held with the purpose of informing small and medium sized enterprises of the benefits available to them under the Agreement, (i) before and (ii) since the Agreement came into effect; and on which dates they took place.

Between March to June 2021, the Department for International Trade (DIT) ran a promotional campaign including events, webinars and podcasts to raise awareness of the Agreement to UK businesses. This resulted in DIT:

• Engaging with 1,100 UK companies and 1,240 Japanese companies;
• Introducing at least 370 UK companies to Japanese buyers; and
• Responding to 437 enquiries from UK companies requesting support on exporting to Japan and identifying Japanese partners.

The UK Government continues to promote the Agreement to business, including via Export to Japan, a not-for-profit organisation, part funded by DIT.

The UK is content that Japan has met its objectives under Article 20.2.